Intrinsic
by Gerudo Desert
Summary: Through thousands of lifetimes and the constant rising and falling of a kingdom, Link and Zelda fight and survive. Fate always pulls them back together, and they wouldn't have it any other way. — a series of one-shots for Zelink week.
1. Chapter 1

**prompt: **promise

**pairing: **Skyward Sword prequel manga; Hylia/Link

**notes 1: **I AM SO PSYCHED FOR THIS WEEK, HOLY HECK. This fic is going to be made up of unconnected one-shots, for various incarnations of zelink. Some will be happy, some will be sad, some will be a mix of both. Some will be from Link's perspective, some from Zelda's, and some will have both. So far what I have planned is two for OoT, one for WW/PH, one for SS, and one for TP. I have no idea what I'm doing for day 4.

**notes 2: **does this even count as zelink? I hope so. I felt like it was appropriate to write the first incarnation on the first day.

**disclaimer: **The Legend of Zelda is not mine.

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The sky was shrouded in clouds the color of obsidian, and the ground was moist with blood. Corpses littered the battlefield, monster and human; there was no time to bury either kind. Vultures and crows snapped at one another, fighting for the choice pieces of carrion. The stench of death was stained deep in his lungs, and his tongue tasted of ashes.

But a half-mile to the north, the castle still jutted up from the earth, formidable and strong. The monsters had not reached the gates, at the least, and the civilians were safe.

Link slid the Master Sword through the scabbard at his hip and stepped over the body at his feet, his eyes darting to the monster's face briefly, then away. Other survivors were drifting towards the castle as well, many of them carrying wounded comrades. He stopped to lend his shoulder to a limping soldier who looked ready to collapse.

It was the sixth day of the war against the Demon King, and they were barely holding the monsters back. The castle's food supplies were all but gone, and every day more soldiers were sent out to die against the enemy's forces. People were losing heart.

As Link picked his way across the field of corpses, half-carrying the wounded soldier, a warm current of air rushed past him. He looked up to see the red Loftwing streak across the sky towards the castle, its loose feathers drifting down to the ground. It always seemed to glow with light, even against the dark clouds, though Link knew that was more because of the rider than the bird itself.

He crossed the drawbridge at last and handed the injured soldier off to one of the nurses waiting at the castle's entrance. There was a crowd congregating in the courtyard. The families of the soldiers huddled close together, waiting for their loved ones to return. Many of them would stand at that gate for hours to come, watching for someone who would never appear.

The Goddess stood at the back of the crowd, her skin giving off a soft, otherworldly light. Though she was slight and slender, there could be no doubt of the authority she held. She was beautiful in an ethereal way, with wide sky-eyes and a tumble of pale golden hair. Her hand was on a young girl's shoulder, and she spoke to her quietly. The Loftwing was behind her, preening his crimson feathers. Hylia looked up when she saw Link approach.

"Hero," she greeted as the girl broke away and moved off into the crowd. Hylia's eyes, azure as the summer sky, looked him up and down without betraying her thoughts. Sometimes it felt like she could see right through him. "I am glad to see that you are well," she said finally.

Link knew what she saw—the slump of his shoulders, the scars on his face, the rips in his tunic and cloak. And most of all, the blood: caked onto his hands, soaked into his clothes, dripping from the blade of the Master Sword. None of it was his. When he tried to imagine the number of lives he had taken today, he felt ill. Link took a breath to ground himself. "How does the fight against the Demon King fare?" he asked.

Hylia's eyes flitted to the people in the courtyard, then back to Link. "Walk with me," she said, and he followed.

They found themselves in what had been the castle gardens before the drought and the war took their toll. Before they dragged Link down into the dungeon, this place was lush and green, filled with life and color. Now the earth was cracked dry, and the plants were no more than withered husks.

"May I share something with you, Link?" Hylia wondered. When he nodded, she said, "I do not believe we will win this war."

He snorted. "Everyone knows that, Your Grace."

"Yes," she agreed as she halted to brush her fingers against the dead remains of a flower. When she touched it, it lived again, its wilted petals lifting up and blooming in brilliant orange. Then she pulled her hand away, and the flower withered once more. "We can no longer save this land. But we _can _save its people. On the morrow, I will fight the final battle against Demise. Yet…I do not know if I will win." Hylia turned to Link and fixed him with those blue, blue eyes, and for the first time since her Loftwing had landed in front of him she looked afraid. "You must promise me, Link," she pleaded.

After being framed and imprisoned for so long, he was wary to trust, but there was sincerity in her voice. "Promise?" Link repeated.

Hylia put a warm hand on his arm. "Protect them. Protect my people. Keep the monsters back from the castle so I can send them to safety. And then join them, so you can be safe in the sky. Promise you will live even if I fall."

"I will keep them safe," Link vowed. He said nothing about the rest; he knew he wasn't going to survive this battle. It was a dread that sat deep in his chest, certain as the sunrise, yet he made his peace with it. His death was a small price to pay for the lives of thousands.

Hylia let out a breath and gently ran her fingers over the bruises the shackles had left on Link's wrists. Her touch was feather-light, like the kiss of a butterfly. "None of this has been easy for you, and I regret that," she said sadly. "But for what it is worth, thank you."

"Whatever happens tomorrow," he murmured, "I'm glad I got to fight at your side. It's been an honor. We both did everything we could."

Hylia nodded, and Link took her hands. His were callused and scarred; hers were soft and unblemished.

Their fingers locked, desperately strong, and they held fast to one another like a port in the storm.

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By the time she reached his body, her white skirts were stained crimson.

The Demon King died with rage and a vow for vengeance, but he would terrorize the land no longer. And Hylia had rent the castle from the earth, sending it up to the sky, out of sight from the ashes of what had been their home.

She stepped over the corpses of monster and human alike to reach him. Link's back was leaned against the face of a boulder, his head tilted back. His hand was pressed against the wound at his side, the green tunic soaked with red. His eyes were open and glassy, staring up at the sky.

Hylia reached him and knelt, reaching out to close his eyes. If she ignored the stiffness of his muscles and the blood covering him, he could be sleeping.

_He broke his promise_, she thought, and for the first time in centuries, Hylia felt tears come to her eyes. She blinked, and let them fall. And yet he had held Demise army's back, and now her people were safe in the clouds, away from this nightmare. _He kept his promise. _

Hylia leaned forward and pressed a kiss on his forehead, even though the skin was long since cold.

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Thousands of years later, in a town called Skyloft, a goddess was born inside a girl and a hero was born inside a boy.  
Through storm and fire and a narrowly avoided apocalypse, they found their way back to each other. And this time, he stood on the goddess statue with his hand in hers, and promised that he would stay.

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	2. Chapter 2

**prompt: **smile

**pairing: **post-OoT, pre-MM; child timeline

**notes 1: **this _was _finished last night, I swear. I posted it on tumblr and uploaded the document on here, but never actually posted the chapter. nice.

**disclaimer: **The Legend of Zelda is not mine.

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Link watched the guards clap the irons around Ganondorf's wrists as he thrashed and roared with fury. After an hour of argument and a search of the traitor's chambers, he and the princess were able to convince the king that his Gerudo ally was no ally at all. The day was windy and warm, but something in Link felt cold as he watched them drag Ganondorf down to the dark of the dungeons.

The king gave a disapproving _hmph _and strode back inside, flanked by his guards. Link listened to his retreating steps. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now, or where he was supposed to go. Hyrule no longer needed to be saved. His hands tightened around the hilt of the Kokiri sword at his hip—small, chubby hands; the hands of a child. But most of his thoughts no longer belonged in the mind of a ten-year-old.

Link realized they were watching him. Princess Zelda's face was curious; Impa looked bemused. It was the Sage of Shadow who spoke first. "How did you know that Ganondorf meant to betray the king?" Impa demanded.

"I _told _you," Zelda insisted with all the stubbornness of a ten-year-old royal. "He travelled through _time_." It was hard for Link to look at her face. Her eyes were big and blue and beautiful—because she was Zelda, and she would always be beautiful—but they held none of the memories she should have shared with Link. He wasn't sure whether he should be relieved that she'd forgotten the horrors of Ganondorf's reign, or upset that he was the only one who remembered.

Impa shook her head and threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine. _Fine. _Are you staying? There are rooms in the guest wing, and the king should owe you _something _for helping to apprehend his would-be usurper."

Zelda smiled at him brilliantly. "Oh, please stay! You can tell me about your adventures in the future, and about the fairies in the forest! We can sneak out past the guards and go to explore Castle Town—"

"You will do _no such thing_," Impa cut in, giving the girl's ear a tug. Zelda smiled at her sheepishly.

Link found himself at a loss for words. "Stay?" he repeated warily. "I…" Where else would he go? He thought of his treehouse in Kokiri Village and of Saria's gentle smiles, but he was not a Kokiri, and now his fairy was gone. There was Lon Lon Ranch—Malon and Talon often gave Link dinner and a place to sleep, and Epona was there—but none of them knew him in this lifetime.

Besides, he'd had a long day, and there was exhaustion steeped deep into his bones. Ganondorf had not been an easy fight. He looked up at Zelda and Impa, and made a decision.

"I'll stay," Link said, and Zelda squealed in delight.

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In the end, the guards could only be so diligent. Link knew the castle surprisingly well—and he knew how to sneak out of it. Zelda dressed in the plainest clothing she owned; a pale blue woolen dress under a brown cloak. He met her outside her room, and together they ducked under the guards' surveillance and out into the city.

The day that followed would remain as one of her fondest memories for the rest of her life. They visited the shooting gallery, where Zelda took up archery rather quickly. They haggled with one of the vendors in the marketplace and shared a steaming hot meat pie. They tried on masks at that creepy smiley salesman's store. Most of all, they talked to all kinds of people—men and women, young and old, soldiers and bakers, seamstresses and blacksmiths—more people than Zelda had ever known.

Eventually, Impa caught them and hauled them both back to Hyrule Castle for a long scolding. Even so, those few hours in the marketplace taught Zelda more about the people she would one day rule than any of her lessons did.

When she thought back on the day, though, she realized that it didn't seem like Link had enjoyed it. He was kind to her, and knew where the best food was and when merchants were being stingy. But he was quiet the whole time, and spoke only in vague detail when Zelda asked about his adventures. His gaze kept drifting to the old Temple of Time on the outskirts of town. She wasn't sure she understood why.

Next time, she was going to make him smile.

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Zelda shot up in bed when she heard the screams.

Her first thought was that the castle had been attacked, and she pushed the blankets from her legs and reached for the dagger she kept under her pillow, then dropped into a crouch beside her bed, the way Impa taught her. Zelda's hands were shaking so badly that she could barely unsheathe the dagger, and her eyes moved about the dark room frantically, searching for an attacker. She saw no one.

"Impa?" she called softly. Someone was still screaming in pain, in fear, a horrible sound that didn't seem to break for breath. Zelda moved to the door, heart hammering in her ears, and slowly twisted the knob open with her trembling hands.

Impa usually guarded her door at night, but she was nowhere to be found; perhaps she had gone to the kitchens for food or to the privy. It was a foolish idea to leave her room, but Zelda slipped out all the same. She had an idea of where the screaming was coming from, and she gripped her knife tighter and ran towards it.

When she reached his room, she flung open the door without bothering to knock. Link was tangled in the sheets, eyes shut, limbs thrashing, screaming his throat raw. Zelda let the dagger clatter to the floor.

In a moment she was at his side, grabbing his arms and trying to hold him still. He fought her, trying to yank his arms away. The power in his movements shocked her. "_Link!_" she shouted, but he was still trapped in the nightmare. Finally, Zelda raised a hand and slapped him across the cheek. The screams faded in his throat, dying down to shuddering sobs, and he went limp.

"No," he was crying. "No, please, I don't want to…"

"Link, you're safe," Zelda said in the most soothing voice she could manage, trying to disguise her own tears. She stroked his hair, running gentle fingers through it. "It's me, Zelda. You're in the castle. You were having a nightmare. No one is going to hurt you."

Link's eyes opened, wide and wild. His hand went out to reach for the sword by his bed, and he latched onto it like a lifeline. "Zelda," he croaked.

She smiled encouragingly and pried his hands open. His nails had left angry red marks on his palms. Zelda listened as his heaving breath slowed down, becoming calmer, though there were still silent tears working their way down his cheeks.

She looked up to see a crowd gathering at the door. Impa was at the front, with several guards behind her, and a few bedraggled servants trying to peer over their shoulders into the room. Impa raised her eyebrows in question, and Zelda nodded to let her know that she was all right. "We're fine," she said to no one in particular. "You may all return to bed."

Link's face was turned away from the door as they peeled away, his face growing red with shame. He was staring at the sword in his hand, eyes vacant and dead. For once, Zelda didn't know what to say. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she said uncertainly. "But please say something, Link."

A moment passed until he mumbled, "Sorry I woke you."

Zelda sighed. "Don't be. Just try to get some sleep, all right?" She pushed herself off the bed and made to leave.

His hand shot out and caught hers, quick as a snake, though his grip was gentle. "Zelda, don't go," Link said hoarsely, sounding so miserable that her heart ached.

She swallowed the tears and nodded, climbing back into bed and taking his hands. "I'm not going anywhere," she promised.

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"I know why he doesn't smile," Zelda confessed as she moved her knight forward.

Impa looked up from the chessboard. "Do you, Princess?"

"I think he lost himself," she replied softly. "When he saved the world. What he did…what he _had _to do…" Zelda trailed off, biting her lip. "He doesn't know who he is anymore."

Impa picked up her pawn and hovered over the board for a moment before deciding where to place it. Then she raised her gaze to Zelda, her red eyes contemplative.

"You may be right," she said finally.

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Link stood behind her and guided her elbow up farther. The target was fifty yards away; a long distance for anyone, let alone a beginner. But Zelda was learning quickly.

She'd asked her father for a longbow for her eleventh birthday; the king refused, saying that princesses didn't need bows. Impa bought her one anyway, saying that princesses needed to be able to defend themselves. What the king didn't know couldn't hurt him.

"Remember to keep your back straight and your hands still," Link reminded her as he stepped back. "Now, fire."

Zelda loosed the bowstring, and they watched as the arrow flew straight and true, arcing in the air before it buried itself in the straw target. She laughed in delight and triumph when she saw the perfect bull's-eye, and danced around him, spinning in circles.

"I dare you to do better," she teased when she stopped before him, her hair tousled and turned golden in the sunlight.

He scoffed and took the bow from Zelda's hands, nocking an arrow. She was so innocent and carefree in this time, without the guilt of opening the Sacred Realm to a traitor or the burden of holding together a bleeding kingdom. Link thought it was all for the better.

He knew he wasn't going to hit the bull's-eye. His archery was self-taught, and focused more on moving targets—_living _targets—than on straw. Link was very good, but she was better, and his shots were usually based on speed rather than precision.

His arrow ended up in the innermost ring, but not in the center. The embarrassment was worth her smile.

"I knew I'd win," Zelda said smugly. He gave her a playful punch on the shoulder, and she pushed him back. Sooner or later they were wrestling on the ground, covered in grass and dirt stains.

Link wasn't sure how they got there, but he knew that he was laughing, and it felt better than anything in the world.

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"You're leaving, aren't you?" she asked without looking at him. He'd come to her in the garden where they met, what felt like a lifetime ago. His bags were packed, his sword was sharp, and he was ready.

Link nodded and rubbed Epona's neck absently. The filly had grown so attached to him that Malon and Talon had to let him keep her—and the pouch of Rupees he gave them hadn't hurt either.

"I knew you would," Zelda said sadly as she turned to face him. His stay at Hyrule Castle lasted all of two months; longer than he'd expected, in truth. "Where are you going?"

"There's someone I have to find," he answered. "A friend." Navi had been his guardian through the hardest time of his life, and he missed her desperately. He knew she was out there somewhere.

She nodded, as though she had expected it. "I want you to know…even though it was only a short time, I feel like I've known you forever."

Link swallowed hard. He wished he could tell her how what they'd really been through together; how she'd melded into the shadows to don a mask so she could keep Hyrule alive; how she'd waited seven years for him to wake up; how she'd fought with him in the end, and banished the King of Evil to the Sacred Realm herself. But he said nothing. This time, her childhood would be happy.

Zelda stepped forward and took his hands in hers, twining their fingers together. They stayed like that for a moment as they both drank in the picture of each other's face, memorizing each detail. Then she gave his hands a squeeze, and drew forth the Ocarina of Time to press in his palm.

Link drew breath to protest when she murmured, "Take it, Link. No matter how far you go, I want you to remember to come back to Hyrule. Come back to me."

His throat was growing tight, and he shut his eyes for a moment longer than a standard blink, gathering his courage. "Thank you, Zelda," he whispered. "For everything."

"We _will _see each other again," she said fiercely. "The Goddess of Time is protecting you. Goodbye, Link." She pulled her hands away, and Link closed his fingers over the Ocarina. It felt like finality.

He mounted Epona and urged her forward, weaving his fingers through her white mane. The castle gates felt like they were miles away, but he reached them all the same. He knew Zelda was watching him go, but he never looked back.

As he rode out into Hyrule Field, Link realized he was smiling.

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	3. Chapter 3

**prompt: **rescue

**pairing: **4 years after WW/PH. Link and Zelda are both in the 16/17 age range.

**disclaimer: **The Legend of Zelda is not mine.

**summary: **Together, they were a force of nature.

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Zelda leaned over the side of the deck, peering out at the coast. The ocean was choppy and unstable today, but it was no challenge to her crew. The fishing village was smoking, and even from here she could hear the screams. The pirates were making her people bleed. They would pay twice over, for that. She took a breath of the salty sea-smell, mixed with the scent of the village burning.

Link stood next to her, quiet, the way he always got in the moments before battle. His eyes were fixed on the town, and a frown furrowed his brow. Zelda loved that about him; the way he could focus all of his attention on one thing and not let himself be deterred. She could see the chainmail under his signature green tunic. She wore only a leather jerkin over her shirt, preferring not to be weighed down.

The wind picked up, catching in Zelda's hair. She'd cut it to her shoulders a few years ago, after she took on the name Zelda for good. Tetra had been a pirate and a child, but Zelda was a grown woman, a rescuer. She and Link had made the King of Hyrule a promise. This new land, full of potential yet corrupted with crime—it would be theirs, but only if they were worthy of it.

With that thought, Zelda pulled Link close and kissed him hard and long. By the time she broke off, they were gasping and grinning. "Good luck," he said, and she nodded.

On the shore, she could see the villagers scrambling as the pirates razed their home. Some of them were trying to fight back, but they were armed only with sickles or crude kitchen knives and were cut down easily. Most of the people were trying to flee, on foot or on horseback, clutching small children or prized possessions. Their straw huts were blazing with fire, and livestock screamed as they burned in their pens. The sight filled Zelda with rage and resolve.

"Ready your arrows!" she bellowed at her crew when she could see the pirates on the other ship's deck. Zelda pulled out her own bow and nocked an arrow, and at her side Link was doing the same. "Shoot well," she said to him with a wink, then raised her voice to yell, "Loose!"

Her arrow struck her target, and the man topped overboard, bleeding from the arrow in his neck. Zelda examined the ship anchored at the town's shore with an experienced eye and concluded that it was no match for hers. "Ramming speed!" she commanded, and the order was passed down from mouth to mouth to reach the rowers belowdecks. They flew across the water. "Prepare to board!"

They raked the pirate ship's side so hard as they drew up to it parallel that the deck heaved beneath them, making Zelda stagger. Link grabbed her to keep her steady. "Let's go!" he shouted to her, and she drew her cutlass and followed him as he vaulted over the rail. Her crew came behind them.

In battle, she and Link were a nightmare to behold. They were a unit, a pair; they both recognized one another's strengths and compensated for the weaknesses. That was what they'd learned from five years of saving the world together.

"Right!" Zelda called to him as they reached their first pair of opponents. Link peeled off to the left, and she went the opposite way.

She ducked under the pirate's axe and lashed out with her foot, kicking hard underneath his kneecap and making him stumble. He swung his axe around again to try to catch her in the side, but Zelda's cutlass met it first. Steel and steel screamed as they clashed together. She pulled away first and lashed out at his unprotected side, her blade opening an angry red wound from hip to armpit. The pirate went down, hollering, his axe tumbling from his hands. Zelda kicked it away and pressed her cutlass to his throat. "_Yield!" _she barked.

"Yield," the pirate groaned in submission, clutching his wounded side. He wasn't getting up with that injury, so Zelda left him there.

She got to her feet in time to see Link bash his shield into his enemy's head—a painful injury, but not a killing blow. Before the pirate even hit the floor, Link was up again, his blade meeting another opponent. The fight raged around them, but the only bodies Zelda saw on the deck belonged to the enemy, not her crew members. She sent a prayer up to the Goddesses so they might keep it that way.

Another pirate was converging upon Link while his blade was still locked with the first one. Zelda threw herself forward and took her cutlass in both hands, the blade biting into the man's thigh and sending him sprawling before he could reach Link. He hadn't even noticed that she had just saved his life, but that had stopped mattering long ago.

When she turned around, the next pirate was almost upon her, swinging a great morningstar around and around. Zelda fumbled with the hilt of her cutlass, cursing under her breath, her feet tangled beneath her. The morningstar swung towards her, too fast, and there was no way out.

Link caught the spiked ball on his shield as it came crashing down. At the same time, the sword in his other hand was swinging out in an arc, almost too fast to comprehend. Zelda watched as the blade bit through the pirate's leather and into his flesh. He went down.

Link straightened and turned to face her, shaking out the arm that held his shield. His face was flushed, but he was unharmed. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, her chest heaving, and went to him, pressing a kiss on his lips. He tasted of victory and warmth. "Thank you," she breathed.

He grinned, that funny little crooked smile that he'd had since she met him in the forest on Outset Island, years ago. "I owed you one," he said.

"You did," Zelda laughed in agreement, and they turned back to the battle, side-by-side.

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	4. Chapter 4

**prompt: **anger

**pairing: **OoT. fem!Sheik and Link.

**disclaimer: **Zelda is not mine.

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Sheik stood so close to the fire she could taste the ashes at the back of her throat. There were five bodies on the pyre she'd built, glassy eyes staring up at the night sky—she was determined to remember their faces. The crackling of the flames and the howling of the wind were the only sounds.

She was on the outskirts of the ruins of Castle Town. Ganondorf's monster-soldiers patrolled the remnants of the city regularly, though Sheik was unsure why. There was little to find there but wreckage and bones. This group had been particularly large; a dozen soldiers, at least, marching out from Ganondorf's wretched castle. Sheik had heard them coming from far away and hidden in the ruins.

The five children scavenging the ruins hadn't been so lucky. The tyrant's reign left many orphans, and these had been searching through the rubble for tools or valuables. Sheik had hidden behind the skeleton of a building as Ganondorf's soldiers caught them and butchered them like pigs.

Afterwards, she had crept out and stacked the kindling, then carried the bodies to the pyre one by one. The children were lightweight and cold in her arms. Their screams still rang in her ears over and over, and she could see their blood whenever she closed her eyes.

There had been too many enemies for her to fight alone, she knew. She was no powerhouse like the Hero was, and Zelda could not afford to throw her life away. But the anger was there all the same, a cold snake coiled in her stomach, ready to strike—though she was no longer sure where to direct it.

"Sheik?" said a voice from behind her, and she had a dagger in her palm in the blink of an eye. If she hadn't been so distracted, she would've heard the approach minutes ago.

But it was only Link standing there in the dark, gripping Epona's reins in both hands. Navi wasn't visible; she was likely resting in Link's hat. Sheik hadn't seen him since she sent him off to the Fire Temple two days ago. He looked exhausted, and there was a bandage wrapped around his arm and a limp in his walk. He was always getting hurt, and she felt a familiar, tired pang of guilt.

"You awakened the Sage of Fire?" Sheik asked in a feeble attempt to delay what she knew he would ask.

Link nodded as he wound Epona's reins around the branch of a tree. His eyes flickered to the bodies roasting on the pyre behind her. "Who were they?" he wondered quietly.

She swallowed hard, listening as their screams echoed through her skull once more. "Children," she said hoarsely, "Orphans. The monsters caught them and slaughtered them. There were too many for me to defeat."

Link nodded again, as if it did not come as a surprise. He saw death every day, as did she. Suddenly the anger in her snapped, and Sheik threw down her dagger in disgust. "I couldn't _do _anything!" she growled in frustration. "He's killing people every day, and desecrating the royal family, and corrupting the Triforce, and I can't do _anything_!"

"It wasn't your fault," Link said gently. He made no attempt to come closer, knowing that she didn't like to be touched. She was afraid that if he got too close, he would recognize her, despite the mask and the magic.

If not for Zelda's childish choices, Link never would have pulled the Master Sword from the stone and opened the Sacred Realm. Ganondorf wouldn't have seized the Triforce, and Zelda's father would be alive, and Hyrule would be at peace.

But Sheik couldn't tell him any of that. All she said was, "This has to end."

"I'm going to kill him," Link promised with an eagerness that betrayed his real age. She took a deep breath to steel herself. It was a monstrous world, when princesses had to let ten-year-old boys do their killing. He was right, though—Ganondorf had to die, and her anger could die with him.

Sheik reached across the space between them, and pressed a hand to his cheek. "_We're _going to kill him," she corrected, and slipped away into the night.

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	5. Chapter 5

**prompt: **absence

**pairing: **Skyward Sword.

**notes 1: **favorites are nice, but reviews are nicer (◡‿◡✿)

**disclaimer: **The Legend of Zelda is not mine.

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The headmaster's eyes were boring holes through Link's skin. It was hard to meet his gaze, but Link did anyway. This was Zelda's father, and he deserved an answer.

"There was a tornado, sir," he said, swallowing hard. "It ripped her from the sky."

Gaepora pressed a hand to his face and paced the room, making weak attempts at conversation to mask his frantic worry. Link answered dully, hands fisted in the coverlets. He hardly paid attention to Gaepora's words. He'd let Zelda fall into that tornado, down below the cloud barrier, where no human or Loftwing ever dared to venture.

Link waited until Gaepora left to yank on his boots and find his practice sword. It was then that he heard the voice calling his name, and it sounded both frightening and familiar.

He took a breath, and stepped through the door. He was going to bring her home.

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She was dressed all in white, and her hair spilled around her shoulders like spun gold. Her eyebrows were drawn down, and her lips were pressed together stubbornly. Link knew that look—once Zelda had a goal in her mind, she didn't give it up.

When she turned around and took three slow steps toward the golden light, it felt like she was carrying his heart away with her. "I…I have to go," Zelda said, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry, Link."

He wanted to call after her, wanted to follow her, but his voice was dead and his legs were stiff. Instead, Link could only watch as the golden light enveloped Zelda's form, and she disappeared.

The tall dark woman was watching him, her eyes red and impassive. "It took you far too long to get here," she said scornfully. "Clearly, you have no hope of defending Her Grace. You were late, and you failed to protect her."

_Late, _Link thought, and the word ricocheted through his head. _Late, late, late. _He'd been too late when the tornado caught her, too late to reach her at Skyview Temple, too late now. He was _trying. _He woke up every morning to plunge headfirst into danger with no regard for his own safety. He'd lost track of how many monsters he'd killed weeks ago.

"Do my words anger you, boy? Do my words sting?" the woman sneered. "Let them. I suggest you find whatever amount of courage you possess if you wish to help Zelda."

She gave him one last lingering look and turned, stepping into the light. It faded, and afterwards she was gone.

Link lowered his head, and squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn't sure how much courage he had left.

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The Goddess Blade screeched as it met with Ghirahim's dark blade. Link pressed the Demon Lord back, feeling him give way. He was strong, but Link was stronger.

"Protect her!" he growled at the woman—Impa, he knew now. He heard her retreating footsteps, but never glanced back. Ghirahim lunged for him wildly, trying to force his way back, but Link matched him blow for blow.

"I'll see you again!" Zelda shouted, her voice ringing across the chamber, over the clash of metal against metal. "This isn't goodbye, Link! I promise!"

Behind him, the Gate of Time exploded in a blast of blue light. Smoke swept through the air, clouding in his lungs, but it didn't matter. Link slashed his sword forward and gave Ghirahim a vicious smile.

Zelda always kept her promises.

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The seal that caged her was thick and unyielding beneath his fingers. Link's throat was tight with tears, but he didn't let them go. There was no time for weakness, now. He let his hands slide down the surface and dangle at his sides.

"I promise," he whispered. "Zelda, I promise."

Behind the amber, she was smiling.

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He pushed open the doors to the Sealed Temple, exhaustion dragging down his shoulders. The leg that Ghirahim had slashed open made every step an excruciating effort. Link could still hear Demise's hateful laughter, but it hardly seemed to matter now. He was dead, and the surface was safe, and so was Zelda.

Link had only just stepped past the doors when his leg gave out underneath him. He went down hard, but two strong arms caught him and eased him to the floor gently, just as he had done for her only a few hours ago. "Zelda," he breathed, her name an awed whisper on his lips.

"I'm here, sleepyhead," she mumbled into his ear, her breath warming his neck. Her hands came up to rub slow circles in his back.

Link wrapped his arms around her, and swore to never let go.

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	6. Chapter 6

**prompt:** blade

**pairing: **a few months post-OoT.

**disclaimer: **The Legend of Zelda is not mine.

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There were days when Zelda doubted her choice.

She'd sent Link back in time in an attempt to fix her mistakes. After everything he had been through saving her kingdom, he deserved to be at peace. But some wounds never truly healed.

Sewing together a broken kingdom was no easy task. Zelda was ruling as queen from Kakariko Village, while her new castle was being built. The Gorons were a great asset; they were tireless workers, and helped fill in the lava and clear away the rubble left by Ganondorf's seven-year reign of tyranny. Meanwhile, Zelda woke every morning to settle disputes and complaints. Her coronation had been a simple, hasty matter after Ganondorf's death—certainly not the ceremony she'd dreamt of during her childhood.

But Hyrule was healing. Zelda loved her people as much as they loved her, and for once, she could give them a hopeful future.

Link was still always at the back of her mind. She saw him in the faces of the children running through Kakariko, in the flowers that grew by the riverbank, in the horses that Malon raised at the ranch. The wind in the trees was the ghost of his breath against her neck; the summer sky was the color of his eyes.

They were building a statue of the hero by the entrance to Kakariko. Zelda kept her eyes forward as she rode past it on her white gelding, avoiding the gaze of those blank stone eyes. To her people, the fairy boy from the forest had died fighting Ganondorf, sacrificing himself for them. She and the Sages were the only ones who knew the truth.

She kicked her horse into a gallop when she reached Hyrule Field and gripped his mane as he leaped over the moat to Castle Town. They were clearing the streets day by day, but it was still a ghost of what it had once been. Sometimes, Zelda knew, they pulled skeletons from the ruins. She waved at the workers as she rode by.

The Temple of Time was the only building Ganondorf left standing, though Zelda wasn't sure why. She dismounted at the entrance and let her horse wander off to graze at the temple gardens. The inside of the temple seemed to be one of the few things left untouched by the war, and Zelda strode down the chamber, remembering how long she'd waited here as Sheik, praying that the hero would wake up and end this nightmare.

She knelt at the altar where the Spiritual Stones rested, paying her respects to the Goddesses, then rose and climbed the stairs. The doors still stood open, even though the flow of time was blocked shut. And through the doors was the Master Sword.

Zelda ran her eyes over the blade, admiring the deadly edge of the steel. She brushed her fingers over the hilt, feeling the cold metal. This was the sword that saved her kingdom, but it was only as good as the one who wielded it.

She drew a flower from her hair—it was blue, like the sky, like his eyes—and placed it next to the Master Sword. A small smile rose to Zelda's lips.

"Stay safe, Link," she murmured, and turned to leave.

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	7. Chapter 7

**prompt: **fear her

**pairing: **Twilight Princess

**disclaimer: **Zelda is not mine.

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"Your Majesty," the steward began, "Putting the southern land treaty aside, there is one thing that the whole council can agree upon. We believe it is past time you married."

Link watched Zelda's face from his post at the door. As captain of Castle Town's guard, he was present for most of the queen's council meetings, both to keep the room secure and to give the occasional report on his forces. But no one looked to him for political expertise, so for the most part, he stood and listened as Zelda ruled her kingdom.

She had her regal face on; her posture straight but relaxed, her soft blue eyes neutral, betraying none of her thoughts. Her dress was maroon embroidered with gold, and her chestnut hair spilled out from under her golden crown.

The nobles around the round table were nodding. "Forging an alliance with one of the neighboring kingdoms could only help us, Your Majesty," said one of the diplomats, a scrawny old man who always reminded Link of a weasel.

"Aye, and a royal wedding always pleases the common folk," agreed another.

"Not to mention that an heir is needed," put in a third, smiling a slimy smile that Link disliked immediately. "You have been queen for four years. Really, it _is _past time you found a husband. If—Goddesses forbid—something were to happen to Your Majesty, the throne would pass to your third cousin Elizabeth, a girl of nine. After that, it would pass to her younger brother, a boy of four. After _that—_"

"I am well aware of my own family tree, my lord," Zelda said mildly. "However, I am only twenty-three, and healthy. I see no rush to marry while I am busy ruling my kingdom."

Link thought of Midna, a world away, and wondered if she'd faced the same problem yet. She'd probably bite off the face of anyone who tried to force her into a marriage she didn't want. The thought made him smile.

"As it happens, I have a son close to your age," the slimy lord was saying, still smiling. "He is prudent and shrewd in politics, skilled and brave in battle, and noble and kind to those he loves. As you know, Your Majesty, my family has old blood and a large fortune. We could join our lines and create a new dynasty."

Zelda's steward gave a bark of laughter. "This man is only interested in his own benefits. There is a prince in Labrynna—the heir to the throne. A bit old, perhaps, but—"

The room exploded into argument as ten different councilmen started to talk at once. Left alone, they could continue all day. Link thanked the Goddesses that he wasn't born a noble—not for the first time.

"_Enough_," Zelda snapped, her voice cracking like a whip as she shot to her feet. The nobles fell silent one by one as they turned to look at her nervously. Zelda's anger was a beautiful thing, a cold thing, fearsome to behold. Her eyes blazed with blue flames, yet ice dripped from her mouth when she spoke. "I am your _queen_, not a prize to be handed off to whomever you wish. You are my council and I value your advice, but do not presume to sit here discussing a future that belongs only to me. I'll marry a man I _want _to marry, when I want to marry him. Am I understood?"

Her eyes darted from man to man, daring them to defy her. They nodded like trained puppies bowing at their master's command. Link was caught somewhere between amusement and awe. He could see sweat beading on the nobles' foreheads.

Zelda fixed her gaze on the slimy councilman. "And you, my lord," she said, spitting out his title like acid, "I know plenty about this son of yours—for example, the bastards he had fathered on common girls who he abandoned. If you think I would allow such a vile insect in my bed, you know nothing of your queen. I don't recommend offering me his hand again. Are we clear?"

The councilman nodded frantically, his face the color of curdled milk. Link made a valiant effort not to burst into laughter. Zelda gave the councilman a sweet smile, and settled back into her seat gracefully.

"Now then," she said pleasantly, "Shall we return to the business of the southern land treaty?"

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That night, Link was still laughing.

"The look on that pretentious noble's face," he chuckled as he reclined on the sofa by the fireplace. "I thought you were going to make him cry!"

Zelda sighed affectionately as she pulled the crown from her hair and set it on the vanity. It had been a long day; her with her politics, him with his city guard. They were both glad to retreat to the quiet of their chambers. "Only you would get this amused from me insulting my council. I'm still not sure any of that was a good idea. I should have controlled my temper."

Link went to her and drew her into his arms, pulling her close. "It's your life, not theirs. Besides, you put a little fear into them."

She breathed in the scent of him; grass, earth, horses, chainmail, leather. _Good smells_, Zelda thought. "That's not the kind of queen I want to be," she murmured. "It's just…you know what their real goal is, don't you? They don't approve of this. Of us." She dug her fingers into the fabric of his green tunic. "They're trying to take you away from me."

"After everything we've been through?" Link said. Zelda gave him a long look. It had been four years since the end of the dark days, and they'd done their best to bury the past. But there were still nights where one of them woke to the other thrashing in bed, held captive in a nightmare of the year Hyrule had spent in twilight. And they both missed Midna, even now. Zelda didn't think any of it would go away, but they had each other.

"You're right," she breathed, and pressed her lips against his, long and soft. When she pulled away, she was smiling. "We fought the King of Evil. What can a bunch of stuck up lords and ladies do to us?"

"Nothing," Link grinned, and pulled her in for another kiss. When his fingers went to the laces of her dress, Zelda didn't push him away.

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End file.
